Generative AI: Executives see more benefits than risks
The risks of generative artificial intelligence - such as copyright infringements or cybersecurity - are obvious. Nevertheless, internationally 70% of managers believe that its benefits are greater than the associated problems.
According to the Capgemini Research Institute study, "Harnessing the value of generative AI: Top use cases across industries," nearly all executives surveyed in the study (96 percent internationally) note that generative AI is a key technology, and the majority confirm that their decision makers are strong advocates. For the study, executives from 1,000 companies interested in using generative AI were surveyed in April 2023.
While 21 percent of executives internationally expect significant disruption to their industry from this technology, across industries, four in ten of the companies have already established teams and budgets for its use; about half are considering doing so later this year. Companies believe the most significant AI-based platforms and tools for their industry are chatbots to automate customer service and improve knowledge management (83 percent internationally) and to generate, capture or aggregate data (75 percent internationally).
Numerous benefits expected within three years
Most executives (78 percent internationally) believe that generative AI will make the development of products and services more efficient as well as more user-friendly and inclusive (76 percent internationally). They also expect AI technology to make the customer experience more interactive and engaging (71 percent internationally) and customer service to improve through automated, personalized support (67 percent internationally).
If generative AI is successfully integrated into IT infrastructures, managers expect a number of benefits over the next three years: Internationally, they expect the integration of the technology to lead to an 8 percent increase in revenue and a 7 percent reduction in costs. In addition, respondents estimate that they will be able to improve customer interaction and satisfaction as well as operational excellence by 9 percent in this way.
"Generative AI is a transformative force and will fundamentally change human-machine interaction. It is therefore not surprising that the technology is currently high on the agenda of every board," comments Guido Kamann, CEO at Capgemini in Switzerland. "Generative AI offers numerous opportunities. In order to use the technology responsibly and exclude the disadvantage of minorities, attention must be paid to energy efficiency during development and the focus must always be on people. In this way, companies can promote acceptance as well as a trusting work environment and use generative AI to create sustainable value."
The high-tech industry is a pioneer in the integration of generative AI
The most convinced that generative AI will have a positive impact overall are executives in the high-tech sector (84 percent): Nearly 70 percent report piloting generative AI at their company; 18 percent say they have already implemented generative AI at some sites or in multiple business units. The most common use cases are 3D modeling for detailed contours and predictive maintenance.
The majority (67 percent) of executives across all industries see the greatest potential for generative AI in corporate IT. This is especially true in the high-tech sector, where the largest percentage of executives (86 percent) say their company uses or plans to use generative AI in IT. Other areas where executives see generative AI adding value include sales (54 percent) and marketing and communications (48 percent).
Generative AI brings new job profiles and responsibilities and requires further training
According to 69 percent of companies, generative AI will deliver initial concepts and designs for applications, allowing employees to spend less time on brainstorming and development and more time on testing, validation, validation and optimization. This opinion is also shared by users: 70 percent of them believe that generative AI will enable them to make their work more efficient, free themselves from error-prone routine tasks and devote more attention to the strategic aspects of their work1 that cannot be taken over by the machine.
As the study further shows, 69 percent of executives believe that generative AI will lead to the emergence of new job profiles and areas of responsibility such as AI auditors and AI ethicists. In terms of integrating technology into the workplace and establishing such new generative AI-focused job profiles, 68 percent of executives believe that significant investment is needed in upskilling and cross-functional skills development for talent.
Most companies see the need for sustainable generative AI
Four out of five percent of companies internationally have recognized the importance of implementing and scaling generative AI and Foundation Models sustainably. Just as many are aware that Foundation Models can have a larger environmental footprint than traditional IT development. Nevertheless, of the companies that plan to train their own models (8 percent), only about half so far plan to minimize their impact on the environment. This underscores the need for concrete sustainability concepts.
Source: Capgemini
